Isabella Strahan, daughter of beloved journalist, Good Morning America co-anchor, and former professional football player Michael Strahan, has experienced the unthinkable – battling medulloblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer.
Now, with the support of her family, she’s offering an inside look at the health challenges she fought and conquered following her 2023 diagnosis, thanks to ABC News. On February 5th, she will be featured in an ABC special: Life Interrupted: Isabella Strahan’s Fight Against Cancer.
ESSENCE received an exclusive clip from the special, which shows Isabella proudly ringing the bell in the hospital among staff, celebrating that she completed her cancer journey after rounds of grueling and painful chemotherapy treatments. She reflected on the special moment, “Ringing the bell was just so exciting. I was like, ‘Oh, I’m finally done.’ I think people sometimes confuse ringing the bell with like being cancer-free. Sometimes, it’s not the case for everyone.”
Although she’s currently cancer-free, she will need to undergo periodical scans to ensure the brain tumors don’t resurface. “You know the next couple of years will be an anxious period every time we do scans for her and her family. In medical circles, we call it “scanxiety,” said Dr. Ashley. While her entire family, including her doting father, Michael, is proud and grateful for her health progress, there’s some lingering anxiety about the cancer returning. “There will not be a time where she’s getting a scan where I won’t be on pins and needles. I don’t care if it’s 10 years, 20 years, or 30 years from now; you’ll always be nervous. And I could tell she feels it too,” he shares.
In October 2023, on her 19th birthday, Isabella underwent emergency surgery to remove a golf ball-sized brain tumor. Michael and her mother, Jean Muggli, recently reflected on the painful and shocking experience of witnessing her diagnosis, along with her family.
“The first thing that went through my mind was, ‘This must be a mistake.’ It didn’t seem real,” Michael said.
“As a parent, you’re just scared,” he continued. “She told me at one point, ‘I’ll do whatever I gotta do because I don’t want to die.’ And I was like, wow.”
We’re happy Isabella is cancer-free and hoping for continued healing for her and her family. Life Interrupted: Isabella Strahan’s Fight Against Cancer airs on ABC at 10:02 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Feb. 5, and streams next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
